You might know Ben Barnett as the raw-voiced singer of Kind
of Like Spitting, the long-running Portland band with the tumultuous
past. In fact, odds are, you might have actually been in the band at
one point, since KOLS’ lineup has easily had over 50 members throughout
the years. But this is not about Barnett the singer, a flawed yet
dedicated performer with raw, emotional songs that gush forth like a
spilled vein. This is about Barnett the teacher, an instructor for the
Portland chapter of the Paul Green School of Rock, and the curator of
their upcoming “Best of the Northwest” showcase. And even more so, it’s
about continuing the legacy of local music. The school is similar in
structure to (but essentially different from) its nonprofit peers at
the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, and specializes in teaching its
students rock music in the live setting. Every three months the
students perform at local clubs, covering the music of anyone from Pink
Floyd, to punk, to “classic metal.” But the upcoming Northwest-themed
show is the work of Barnett. In fact, his passion for Northwest music
is only exceeded by his students’ desire to perform it.
In assembling his curriculum, which covers everyone from the Wipers
to Built to Spill, Barnett was forced to balance his role as a teacher
with the natural jadedness that comes with being a struggling local
musician. “It’s easy to live here in Portland, be miserable, move away,
and then get nostalgic,” he says. “But how can these kids not know
‘Rebel Girl’? How can these kids not know about Unwound?” exclaims an
excited Barnett. “I came in the other day and Michelle [a student of
the school] was listening to Team Dresch’s ‘Don’t Try Suicide,’ and
that’s not the song of theirs that we’re covering. To watch that spark
in the students, it’s incredible.”
To Barnett, passing the torch to future generations of musicians is
summed up in a single word: “Imperative.” He adds, “You can’t lead a
life without Unwound. You can’t ignore Elliott Smith or
Sleater-Kinney.”
As much student as he is teacher, Barnett realized that in the
school-sponsored Sabbath or Beatles performances, the kids were never
able to connect with the artists they covered. In order to knock down
some walls between the fans and the performers, Barnett recruited an
impressive lineup of regional heavy hitters, a small portion of which
will include Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), Sara Lund (Unwound),
Steve Turner (Mudhoney), David Bazan (Pedro the Lion), and in the
category of not exactly from the Northwest—but so what, he lives
here now—Stephen Malkmus will be joining the kids as well.
Of course, you can’t cover a region’s worth of artistic output in a
single
evening, a realization not lost on school director Carl
Hinds. “Just trying to keep it at 30 songs was next to impossible,” he
says. “There’s just too much good music from the Northwest.” And the
students share his respect for the material, says Tuesday, a
14-year-old whose enthusiastic take on music, as both a performer and a
fan, is downright infectious. “Some of the songs we’re doing for the
Northwest show have a lot of hard parts, but they are more thought
through than most punk or metal songs we cover, so you feel it more.
And that’s important.”